"She wanted to take Triska away to breed with?" Daniel asked in disbelief. Specca nodded while looking at the human girl with worried eyes.
"She would put you in a trance just like she did to you earlier, and then infuse you with the dark energy from the netherworld. She would turn you into a succubus yourself, you would become a monster of Eden forever," she said softly. Triska looked at her with shock then down while the others looked at her worriedly. Squeak slowly sat up and squeaked quietly as Daniel stood up.
"That monster… wanted to have sex with me?" Triska asked with a mortified expression. Specca looked up in thought for a moment then back to Triska with a shrug.
"I'm not quite sure how the ritual goes with converting a human to a succubus, so I'm not entirely certain if your pants would remain on or not. However, that is indeed why she wanted you, why she didn't kill you when she had you under her power. She wanted you alive, to become another succubus," she said softly. Triska looked at her with a stunned expression then down again.
"It's a good thing Alyssa stopped her when she did then," Daniel said looking over to Alyssa. The witch smiled arrogantly and nodded.
"It's my job out here as your protector after all," she said with a mocking tone while looking at Triska. The teen glanced to her then looked back to Specca.
"Are you sure about this? I never heard of any monster that uses women to breed with," she asked cautiously. Specca nodded as Squeak stood up and looked at the girl curiously.
"I'm very certain. I read the book about monsters in Eden at the library numerous times, and it was quite clear regarding that monster class. Although a great number of monsters in the world do rely on men for reproduction, others breed in different ways. Some can use either men or women, while others need women specifically. However these monsters are far rarer than any other," she explained. Alyssa looked at her curiously then walked up to her.
"If you know so much about the monsters in the world, can you tell us about the two others we saw today? The ones that were with that human?" she asked curiously. She already knew what they were, but wanted to see if the girl really was as smart as she seemed. Specca looked at her and nodded, then up as she thought back to them.
"I believe I can. Let me think…" she wondered softly as the group watched her curiously. She closed her eyes as she took a calm breath, and then looked down while holding a hand to her chin.
"The one carrying the large sword, she was a reptile girl. They're normally found deep in the outerlands, although a few may travel further out into human territories. They're extremely strong and have a sense of honor, and are usually found wandering around alone. Carnivorous in nature, they prefer meat either raw or cooked. If challenged or provoked into a fight, they will fight with extreme physical strength and fortitude. However, they will not kill the opponent should they be inferior, rather they will let them live with the shame of defeat. But, if they are beaten by a male in combat, they accept him as their master and will never leave his side, even if ordered to," she said before she adjusted her glasses. After a pause she looked up while crossing her arms as she thought about the second monster girl.
"The other carrying the large hammer was an orc. They're found deep in the outerlands as well; however they usually travel in packs for overwhelming numbers. Those monsters are rather sadistic when it comes to breeding, and will actively hunt down groups of humans to capture as many as they can. They derive great pleasure with using the men like toys, and are extremely difficult to fight against with their impressive physical prowess. They're not too intelligent as far as monsters go, and use crude weaponry and tools for survival. Although they love controlling the weaker humans, they become completely submissive to any human that can defeat them in combat. Should a man best one in a fight and not kill her, she'll follow him around wanting to be his toy for the rest of her life," she explained. After a pause she blinked, then looked to Daniel.
"Of course, that's why they called that other human their master. He must have defeated them when they tried to fight him," she said softly.
"The one with the sword. Yeah, he did seem rather skilled; he even took on the succubus and witch without showing any fear," Daniel said looking down in thought. Specca nodded and looked down in thought.
"His sword managed to deflect that other witch's magic, and even posed a threat to the succubus. She blocked Triska's blade easily enough, but when he attacked her she avoided him completely. That wasn't an ordinary sword, which must be how he beat both a reptile girl and an orc; he's using an enchanted blade of some sort," she reasoned.
"We saw that orc here earlier, I was rather curious why one was here in a human city alone," Alyssa commented while glancing to Specca. The nixie nodded then looked down in thought.
"They all seemed to be after that artifact that the succubus stole. I wonder what it was anyway," she pondered curiously.
"Whatever it was, they were all ready to kill each other over it, along with us in the crossfire," Triska said scratching her head in thought.
"Hey, are you all ready yet?" one of the Ashwood guards called out. Daniel's group looked over to the two women as they walked around the caravan towards them.
"Your horse has calmed down and is no longer terrorizing the city and your monster friend is standing again with clean underwear, you need to be on your way now," the other guard stated with a professional tone. Daniel nodded and motioned his group towards the caravan.
"Yeah, we were just getting ready," he said simply. Triska and Squeak nodded then climbed aboard the caravan, the two sitting down inside the cabin near the front. Alyssa hopped up and sat in the driver's seat with her staff next to her, holding the reins for Lucky. She glanced back to Triska as the human and ant girl were sitting in the cabin across from each other, with Squeak sitting on her legs while angling her insect abdomen out next to her against the wall.
"Triska," Alyssa said simply. The girls looked over to her as she paused for a moment before looking back ahead.
"Thank you, for trying to help me," she said quietly. Triska smirked and crossed her arms before her.
"See, that wasn't so hard to say thank you, was it?" she asked arrogantly. Alyssa drummed her fingers in her lap while still looking forward, not wishing to comment on that. Daniel smiled at the witch then climbed up next to her on the front seat. Specca smiled up at him as the two Ashwood guards watched the horse carefully to make sure he didn't go on a rampage in his demon form again.
"Good luck on your journey, Daniel, and stay safe," Specca said softly with a smile. Daniel smiled down at her while Alyssa glanced to the girl.
"I'll be alright, I'm not alone after all," he said looking around at the three girls with him. They all smiled and nodded in agreement to that. He looked back down to the nixie with a remorseful smile.
"I'm sorry about the library being destroyed, I know how much you liked it there," he said gently. Alyssa smiled weakly to that and shrugged.
"Yeah… sorry about that," she said with a small giggle.
"Oh, that's alright. I'm sure it'll be rebuilt in no time. Besides, I have a large collection of books at my home, I'll manage," Specca said with a small laugh. She waved to the group then started walking off as Daniel waved back.
"Who was that, Daniel?" Triska asked curiously.
"She was working at the library when I stopped by, she helped me find a book on monsters to update my own with," Daniel said calmly. The three girls glanced to each other then looked over towards Specca as she walked around the pool. After a few steps she stopped and looked down, then quickly waved over to Daniel.
"Daniel, wait! You forgot your friend's pickaxe!" she called out as she reached down to pick up the pickaxe next to the pool. Squeak blinked then reached behind her, looking back to seeing that her digging tool wasn't with her. Specca lifted the pickaxe up and started running towards the caravan, wavering slightly as the digging tool threw her off balance. She stumbled to the side then tripped against the edge of the pool, t
he girl then falling in as she dropped the pickaxe onto the ground.
"Specca!" Daniel called out as the girl splashed into the water. The two Ashwood guards ran over to the edge of the pool as she coughed and slowly sat up in the water.
"Are you alright?" one of the guards called out. They gasped as they stared at something with surprise. Alyssa stood up with a jump as she pointed towards the pool.
"She's… she's a monster," she said with wonder. Triska and Squeak quickly popped their heads out and looked over to see Specca slowly getting up, her clothing soaking wet, and her wig floating in the water nearby. Her teal colored hair was pulled back on one side revealing her reptilian ear while behind her under the wet dress a long slender tail was seen against the fabric.
"Oh no, Specca," Daniel said worriedly. Specca took off her glasses and wiped the water from them, then put them back on to see everybody staring at her.
"Uh… oh…" she breathed out, looking back to her tail behind her. Her shirt wasn’t see-through even though it was wet, yet it wasn’t her figure or private areas she was worried about others seeing. She quickly looked back to the guardians as she held her hands behind her to hold her tail back.
"She's not human. She's a monster too," one of the guards declared as they narrowed their eyes at her. They reached for their swords while Specca shook her head fearfully.
"Wait, I'm not a bad monster, I've been living here for months now. I'm an honest citizen of Ashwood," she pleaded nervously.
"You've been living here for months? Monsters are not citizens of our city!" the other guard shouted as the two women unsheathed their swords.
"Wait, don't hurt her, she's not evil," Daniel called out, hopping off the caravan and running over to them. Triska and Squeak jumped out after him while Alyssa watched the nixie with a curious eye.
"Did you know she wasn't human? You knew what she was and you didn't tell us?" one of the guards asked glancing to him. He nodded and looked over to Specca as she watched them worriedly.
"Yes, but she's a peaceful monster. She's been working in your library all this time because she wanted to be around people and see more of our world, she wasn't doing anything wrong," he pleaded.
"You knew she was a monster?" Triska asked looking at him curiously. Squeak walked over and picked up her digging tool, slinging it back behind her while she looked at Specca curiously.
"We do not allow monsters to work in our city other than act as traders in the marketplace, and we certainly don't allow them to live here," one of the guards scolded, looking back to the nixie with a stern expression.
"Please… I wasn’t doing anything bad, honest," Specca whimpered.
"Even if we weren't dealing with a monster attack and your kind were allowed within the city limits, living here while under guise of being a human is something we would never tolerate," one of the guards declared firmly. Specca let a few tears drop before looking down and away. She glanced around and saw people around the courtyard pointing and talking about her with cautious expressions.
"Please… I'm not bad. I'm not," she whimpered as she looked down with closed eyes. Daniel looked at her with sympathy then over to the guardians.
"How can you be so cruel to her? She's not malicious; she's been living here peacefully for months now. All she wanted to do was to stay in your city and see the world that we created, she loved it here," he said shaking his head.
"Those are the rules. We do not allow their kind to live among us, letting them in to trade with is as far as we're willing to go with them," one of the guards firmly stated. Triska looked at the nixie in the water then around to seeing people pointing and talking in hushed whispers about her. She shook her head then looked towards the guardians with discontent.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?" she yelled out. The group looked to her as she marched up to the women with a stern expression.
"How can you treat them like this? This witch and ant girl just risked their lives to help save your city and you're kicking them out like they're just as evil as the ones that attacked you. And now you're casting out this girl after she's been living here peacefully for months and helping with your library just because she's a monster too?" she shouted out with anger. Specca slowly crawled out of the pool and dropped over the edge nearby, shakily getting up as she looked around to seeing people staring at her with discontent.
"How can we treat them like this? Are you out of your mind? You know what these things try to do to our men in the wild, what it is they're all after. We may allow some into our city to purchase their wares if they're valuable enough, but that doesn't mean they are welcome here," one of the guards argued. The other walked over to Specca and grabbed her by the arm, the nixie looking at her nervously as the woman had a stern expression. Alyssa and Squeak glanced to each other then to Specca as the nixie was looking around worriedly at all the people staring at her.
"She was living here peacefully! She didn't do anything wrong at all, isn't that proof that she's a good monster?" Triska yelled out.
"There are no 'good' monsters," one of the women argued while shaking her head. Triska growled then waved around to Alyssa and Squeak.
"There are three good monsters right here in front of you, how can you not see that? Are you blind? That ant girl fought alongside your guardians to stop those serpents. That witch took it upon herself to not only help you fight them off but also take on the witch responsible for the attack. And that… um…" she said before looking over to Specca curiously. She eyed her from top to bottom then looked to Daniel with a quizzical expression.
"Nixie," Daniel stated. Triska nodded slowly then looked back to the women with discontent.
"Right, that nixie has been living here in your city, helping out with your library, and not raping anyone," she said firmly. She blinked then looked over to Specca.
"You haven’t, right?" she asked carefully. Specca looked at her with disbelief then shook her head.
"I've never even kissed a boy let alone mated with one!" she cried out. Triska looked back to the guards with her arms crossed before her.
"There, you see? She's never-… wait, you've never even kissed a boy?" she said looking back to Specca quickly.
"No!" Specca cried out. Triska looked at her for a moment then back to the guards again with a stern expression.
"She's never even kissed a boy before, how is she a danger to anyone here?" she yelled out at them. The guardians looked at her carefully then to Specca, the girl standing there with wet clothing as she trembled a bit with a worried expression while in the grip of one of the guardians.
"Be that as it may, it's the law. We cannot change it for any one monster, no matter how… good they may show themselves to be," one of the women said shaking her head.
"We won’t execute her despite her deception, however she is still to be removed from the city and never allowed to return," the other guard declared while holding the nixie.
"But… I don't have anywhere else to go. Please, you can't do this," Specca pleaded shaking her head nervously as the woman started leading her away. Daniel looked at her with worry then ran over in front of them, the two stopping as Specca was sniffling while she tried not to cry. She looked at him with remorse then down with closed eyes.
"I wish we could coexist, Daniel, I really do," she said quietly. He looked at her with concern then over to see the others watching her as well. Turning back to her he saw her smiling sadly at him.
"Good luck, on your journey. I pray that you'll be successful," she said before the guard started to lead her off again past him. He watched them as they started to walk away from the group, the nixie looking down to avoid eye contact with the humans that were staring and pointing at her while the guard had her sword held down at her side. Daniel looked down in thought for a moment then back ahead.
"Wait," he called out. The two stopped and glanced back to him as he showed a curious expression.
"Specca, you said you memorized that monster book i
n the library, correct?" he asked carefully. She looked at him curiously and slowly nodded. Daniel glanced to his friends then back to the girl with a curious smile.
"And, would you happen to know where those monsters could be found in Eden? Say, around here for instance?" he asked. Triska looked at him curiously then over to Specca as the nixie turned to face him.
"Well… I suppose," Specca said unsurely. Daniel nodded then walked up to her.
"And do you want to stop hiding wherever you go, to be yourself and be accepted for it?" he asked gently. She looked at him with wonder and slowly nodded as Alyssa leaned over the side of the caravan to look at them curiously. Squeak walked up to Triska as the two girls watched Daniel with a curious eye as well.
"Yes, I do," Specca said softly. Daniel smiled then backed up a step.
"Then come with us," he offered kindly, gesturing over towards the caravan.
"What?" Specca said with a jump.
"What?" Triska said with an even higher jump.
"What?" Alyssa said with a jump that caused her to fall off the side of the caravan.
Squeak just jumped with a surprised expression and a small squeak.
"Come with us, Specca. We could use a guide out in the world, somebody who knows all about the monsters we'll be coming across. We could use your help," Daniel requested gently. Specca stared at him with a stunned expression while Triska and Squeak looked to each other with wide eyes. Alyssa rubbed her head as she slowly got up, and then looked over towards Daniel and the nixie with surprise.
"Go… with you?" Specca asked looking over towards the others. Daniel nodded then looked over to his companions. The girls stared at Specca with wonder then glanced to Daniel.
"Um…" Triska said slowly.
"Her? Come with us?" Alyssa asked carefully. Squeak looked at the nixie curiously while her antennae twitched a bit.
"Why not? She wants us to coexist as well, and she said she has nowhere else to go. Plus she's very knowledgeable about the monsters of the world, we could use her help with finding the right ones to talk to first," Daniel reasoned looking back to Specca.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 52